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Monday, 27 October 2014

Our chicken liver parfait never fails to impress and, luckily, it's easy to make at home. Why not make it for friends and family this Christmas for a Christmas gift with a difference?! Store it in small Kilner jars with a ribbon to ensure it really produces the wow factor.

1. Fry the onion and garlic in a large frying pan over a low heat with a little olive oil until the onions turn translucent.
2. Turn up the heat a little, add the livers and cook until just cooked through.
3. Add the brandy and simmer for a couple of minutes.
4. Tip the contents of the frying pan into a food processor and blitz until completely smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Add to your Kilner jars, ensuring you leave at least a cm for the clarified butter topping.
5. To make the clarified butter layer: melt the butter over a very low heat. When it separates, spoon the clear butter over the parfait, making sure you don't add any of the small white bits.
6. Store in the fridge.

Your parfait will be ready in an hour and will be good to eat for a further 2 weeks, due to the layer of butter.

Thursday, 23 October 2014

Elena's L'Etoile is quite rightly famous for its wonderful chocolate fondants. Well, today we have a little treat for you, head chef Deyan shares his top secret recipe for making foolproof, delicious fondants every time! Try them out this weekend to add an extra special end to any meal!

Monday, 13 October 2014

Established in 1896, L’Etoile has been a favourite among actors, musicians and politicians, with diners including Sean Connery, Patrick Stewart, Peter O’Toole and Ella Fitzgerald.

In the middle of the 20th century, “Elena” was added to its name in honour of Elena Salvoni, known as the Queen of Soho, who managed the restaurant into her nineties.

For more than seven decades Elena Salvoni opened doors, waited tables and kept secrets for some of the brightest stars of the stage and screen, earning a reputation among diehard devotees as an endangered link to a bygone era of old-school hospitality.

Elena Salvoni, also known as the Queen of Soho, is a tiny woman of sensible heels and black A-line skirt, started waitressing in Soho in 1942 before starting to work at L’Etoile in her 60s.

When the present owners bought L'Etoile on London's Charlotte Street, they changed its name to Elena's L'Etoile in honour of the matriarchal maitre d’.

Whilst Elena has since retired, the restaurant has retained that same sense of charm and character that she embodied for so many years, with customers retuning time after time to experience our fine French food and customer service which is second to none.

Wednesday, 1 October 2014

Today we're turning the spot light away from Elena's famous patrons and a little closer to home. Today we're turning the spotlight on our wonderful manager Deiaa. Few people know, but Deiaa is actually a qualified accountant.

While he was in accountancy training, Deiaa used to work shifts at Elena's as a waiter. Soon he was offered a senior management position. At this point Deiaa was at a cross roads - to continue with accountancy or to follow a career in the restaurant trade?